Chronicles of Ancient Darkness Wiki:The walker
'The walker', later revealed to be Narrander, is a character in the series of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, written by Michelle Paver. Appearance Narrander first appeared in Wolf Brother, returning in Soul Eater and Ghost Hunter. He was well known throughout the other clans for his insanity, although very few knew the cause of his madness. He was once a member of the Otter Clan. Narrander was likely around fifty years old, with scraggly brown hair and a beard, and he very rarely washed himself, judging by his rotten smell. He lived in a valley north of Lake Axehead. No one else lived there, as Narrander, known as 'the walker', scared all who came near. For much of his time wandering, Narrander traveled with a small mouse that he called Narik. He seemed to believe that Narik was always the same mouse (despite him always grabbing another mouse, lemming, rat or possum whenever Narik dies). Narrander is hostile to most who he meets, and was engaged with extreme caution by any who wished to cross his valley. His madness caused him to speak in the third-person, although he did break this pattern of speech briefly when confronting Eostra. Throughout the series, it is revealed that Narrander holds much knowledge about the Nanuak and the Soul Eaters. In Ghost Hunter, his knowledge is explained; Narrander was the mage of the Otter Clan, and the seventh Soul Eater. Narrander, like Fa, became disillusioned with the Soul Eaters and wished to break away. To ensure Narrander stayed, Eostra kidnapped his son Narik and held him hostage. On the night Fa called all of the Soul Eaters to the place now known as the Burned Hill, he destroyed the Fire Opal and caused a great bush fire which left Tenris half-burned and Narrander blinded in one eye. Everyone managed to escape, except for Narik - Eostra had tied him somewhere within the forest. Narrander's grief caused him to lose his mind. He never saw Fa again. Finn-Kedinn searched for Narrander in Ghost Hunter, because he knew who the walker was, and thus was the only one who could stop Eostra. When Eostra tried to summon the other Soul Eaters from the death, she didn't know that Narrander was alive. Narrander appeared, mentioning that the magic didn't work because Eostra's ritual was flawed. He raised his axe and stormed Eostra in his rage, but couldn't cross the pit between them. Renn tried to warn him about the tokoroth that were prepared to ambush him, but the warning was too late and Narrander fell on the floor, unconscious. When he awoke, he summoned the hidden people. As a result, the whole cave began to collapse and Eostra fell to her death in a deep pit. Unfortunately, her spear hooked at Torak's collar, and he fell into the pit as well. He survived, although it took weeks for him to heal. At the end of the series, Finn- Kedinn gave Narrander a sleeping bag and food, and invited him to stay with the Raven Clan. But Narrander, who would never fully recover from the death of his son, refused and returned to his valley, staying there for the rest of his life.